


For Unto us a Child is Born

by ThirteenRedVampireBites



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Christopher Diaz is a National Treasure, Finally, First Kiss, Getting Together, Good Parent Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), M/M, Parent Evan "Buck" Buckley, Safe Haven, Step-Parent Evan "Buck" Buckley, Took Them Long Enough, Wish Fulfillment, Wishes, magical babies, wish babies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:28:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28061703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThirteenRedVampireBites/pseuds/ThirteenRedVampireBites
Summary: Be careful what you wish for;the perpetual warning. Sometimes things go great, sometimes not. Let's find out which this is when Buck finds a baby in the firehouse during a long night on shift.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 263
Collections: 25 (More) Days Of Buddie





	For Unto us a Child is Born

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Buddie Discord Advent Prompt: For Unto us a Child is born. No children are physically born to Buddie; instead, you've got this~ 
> 
> For those of you following me, or having come over from another work of mine, usually, I have fics coming out for Yule (December 21-January 1), which might still happen, they probably won't be long, but this year has been a doozy, so they also might be few and far between. 
> 
> ~~There might be more to this fic to come, but we'll see.~~
> 
> Have a happy holidays, loves!
> 
> ~Kael

Yawning, Buck rubbed his eyes and moved out into the open part of the loft. He wasn’t entirely sure what had woken him up, a dream maybe? But whatever it was, something had, so now he was going to get a cold drink of water and hopefully go back to sleep since he was only 8 hours from completing an _extremely boring_ 36-hour shift. A 36-hour shift made worse than usual by the fact that it was he and Hen working with the other crew as fill ins.

B Shift was down their two single members who’d gone out of state for early Christmas visits. And rather than get in two temporary staff, Buck and Hen had volunteered to fill the spaces. Buck wanted extra money that couldn’t be protested for Christmas presents, and Hen needed the extra bit to add to the vacation fund for her present to Karen.

So here Buck was, a week and a half before Christmas, awake in the middle of the night for no discernable reason during what had been an eternal shift. Rubbing his eyes again, he blearily made his way through the kitchen by memory, heading for the cabinets with the glasses mostly illuminated by moonlight. He’d barely gotten his water glass—a special lidded iridescent stainless steel 16 oz one the kids had gotten him for his birthday—down from the cupboard before he began to hear something down in the bay.

His first thought: _kitten_. It wasn’t uncommon that people would leave unwanted pets or stays at the firehouse. His third thought: _someone injured_. Firehouses are like beacons for those injured with enough brainpower to remember that help could be found there. Thought four: _someone’s phone_. It wouldn’t be the first time that someone’s phone had gone off in their locker in the middle of the night to scare the ever-loving shite out of someone half-awake.

He was in the process of filling his cup when his half-asleep brain registered the last thing that could possibly make sense—as well as the fact that his counting was off, but sue him, it was three in the morning and he’d only had two hours of sleep. _A baby_. Of the 106 stations in LA, 78 were Safe Haven drop offs, and the 118 was one of them. He scrambled to finish pouring, digging his phone out of his hoodie pocket at the same time so he could check the forecast.

“Shit.” Buck cursed quietly at the sudden brightness of his phone screen before flipping to the weather app. 41ºF. Not horrendously cold, all considered, but cold for LA, and who knows how long whatever had been there. He finished pouring his water but left everything out as his focus shifted to what was happening downstairs.

Quick stepping down the stairs, he moved to search the ground level of the station. The smaller door was always left unlocked, open for any public who needed their help, so the sound could be coming from anywhere. He paused at the bottom of the stairs, waiting to hear the noise again.

It was quiet for a long time, long enough that Buck thought it might have been a figment of his imagination. It was almost long enough that he went back upstairs, just pivoting on his toes but then he heard it again, the quiet kind of murmuring that had only been audible because it was the dead of night in a peaceful firehouse on a practically dead street.

He followed the sound across the truck bay, moving slowly to the far side of the station away from the standard door in the back corner where there was the least amount of visual from anywhere else in the firehouse, since the trucks blocked most of the view.

There in the mostly shadowed corner of the bay was a basket. A basket that only drew his attention because it moved, wiggling just the slightest bit into the tiny sliver of light that spilled in through the windows at the top of the big truck doors. He couldn’t be sure what was in the basket since a thin blanket covered the top of it, only a tiny crack left open for air to come and go through the basket’s contents.

Cautiously, Buck stepped into the pool of moon and city lights, crouching down to grab the edge of the basket and pull it into the light. There was another cooing noise from the basket and Buck took a deep breath to steel himself before he pulled the blanket back, revealing the contents of the basket.

Inside was a beautiful baby, maybe only a few weeks old. Thin wisps of curly dark brown hair peeked out from under an adorable red and white knitted hat with pointy ears to look like a fox, matching their onesie that was mainly the same red, except for the front panel which was covered in leafy branches and little foxes in various positions. Tiny hands grabbed onto the fluffy dark fleece blanket covering their body, itty bitt fingers curled around happy smiling moons and stars all wearing sleeping caps with pompoms on the ends.

“Hello, sweetheart,” Buck cooed, tucking the other dark green and red lacy knit blanket that had been over top the basket around their body. “How did you get here?” He brushed a finger over the baby’s, smiling when tiny, tanned fingers grabbed onto his large one. “You are gonna need a check up, so let’s go get you upstairs and wake up Henrietta.”

He carefully gathered the basket into his arms, hefting it up against his chest and cooing down at the baby as he moved to the stairs. The baby looked around as he went up, eyes wide as they took in the changing views of the world around them.

“Let’s go see Hen,” Buck whispered, setting the basket on the dining table. Torn, he brushed a finger down the baby’s nose before leaving the baby in the basket to go wake Hen in the bunk room. He knew it may not be a great idea to leave the baby on the table alone, but it would be worse to take them into the bunk room and have them wake everyone.

“Hen,” he hissed, moving to her bunk. “Hen.” He crouched down next to the edge of her bed to poke her in the cheek gently. “Henrietta.”

Hen groaned and rolled over, attempting to get away from his poking, but he just poked her in the back instead, hissing her name again which got her opening her eyes. Head twisted to stare at him blearily, she raised an eyebrow and groaned. “What, Buck?” she muttered.

“I need you out in the loft,” he replied, keeping quiet as he heard one of the others rolling over across the room. “Someone left a Safe Haven.”

Hen muttered something under her breath as she rolled over and grabbed her glasses from the nightstand, shoving the blankets down with her other hand. She slipped her glasses on and rolled to her feet. “What’s it like outside?” she asked quietly, grabbing her LAFD hoodie from the hook next to her bed. She tugged it on as she got to her feet, shoving her phone into one pocket as she shoved her feet into her boots, following him out of her bunk area to the kitchen.

“It’s only forty-one,” Buck told her as they came out into the kitchen, finding the baby exactly where he’d left them. “But the baby was in the back corner of the bay, not near the door, so it shouldn’t be too much of an issue?”

“Mm, it shouldn’t be, it’s usually pretty warm down there when we don’t have the doors open,” Hen agreed, walking over to where the basket was sitting on the table. “Turn on a light, please and thank you.”

Buck went over to the switch panel, flicking the one for the lights over the dining table, but leaving the others off. He went back to the counter, screwing the lid onto his cup before going to the cupboard for Hen’s cup, another metal one but this one in bright neon purple with “Best Mom” written on the side. He poured her some water, sealing hers up before refilling the pitcher and putting it back into the fridge.

“So, what’s the verdict?” Buck questioned as he brought both cups over, setting Hen’s down near where she had the baby laid out on the table.

“I’ll need to grab a medical bag to do a more thorough check, but so far—” Hen smiled as she reset the baby’s onesie back into place. “—this little Miss, looks like she’s in perfect health.”

“It’s a girl?” Buck breathed; his blue eyes wide as he looked down at her.

“It is,” Hen replied, folding the blanket she’d set under the girl as she checked her over back around the baby’s body. “Hold her for me while I go get my medical bag.”

Buck set his water down on the table before taking the baby from her arms. He cooed down at the baby as she settled in his arms; those baby blues wide as she looked up at his face. One hand squirmed out of her blanket wrapping to reach up for his face.

“You are adorable, aren’t you?” Buck cooed, smiling as he hooked his foot around the leg of a chair and sat down at the table. He knew from the moment he looked at her in that basket in the dark, which now he was interested in seeing her in the light, but he knew from that first look that he’d eagerly be man behind unless Captain Reynolds absolutely need him, and if that was the case, then he’d just call Eddie or Karen or Athena or Bobby or _someone_ to come take her, but since he found her… then it should be on him to care for her until he could take her to a hospital for a full medical check and the system’s necessary tests.

 _She looks like Eddie_ , Buck thought. Not in just that she was very obviously Latina, but in the shape of her face. It was the curve of her jaw, the tilt of her eyebrows, the tiny mark under her eye, the dimples in her cheeks. She looked like Christopher too, the same smile and wide eyes.

Hen came back upstairs, setting her medical bag onto the table.

“She looks like Eddie,” Buck commented, wiggling his finger in her grip. He hummed quietly and smiled down at the baby.

“Does she?” Hen murmured, smiling at the sight of that big puppy holding such a small child, something she’d only seen with her own daughter, but expected to see more of when his nibling was born in a couple weeks. “I thought she looked like you; those birthmarks and that little nose.”

Buck hadn’t noticed them before, the little brown birthmarks on her tiny face just under her left eye. One matched his own, right at the corner of her eye but there were two more, one directly under her eye and the other making a triangle with the other two. All three marks were almost perfect circles, tiny little things that Buck suspected would grow as she did, since his had done the same.

“Let’s take a proper look at her,” Hen murmured, opening her bag.

Buck got up, moving closer and carefully peeling back the blanket to set the baby down on the table. She wiggled but didn’t make a noise, simply yawning and settling down as she was manhandled by Hen through a check over.

Buck watched in silence, standing just to Hen’s left while she worked. She was quick, methodical about it and made it fun for the baby girl, cooing and tickling her as she worked. She finished as quickly as she could, wrapping the girl back up in her blanket before holding her out to Buck again.

“Here you go, kiddo, have a baby,” Hen remarked, and he took the baby from her, holding her bundled form against his chest. He sat down on the chair again, cooing as he looked down at her. “Did you check her basket for anything, Buck?”

Buck shook his head. “More focused on getting her checked out.”

“Alright, let’s see what’s in here then,” Hen muttered as she dragged the basket over in front of her. She pulled the moon and stars blanket out, folding it quickly before setting it aside. Another blanket patterned like a galaxy join the other one from over top the mattress. The mattress’ removal revealed a pocket filled with basic necessities: a glass baby bottle, a small tin of formula, a couple of diapers, a few rolled up pieces of clothing, and a little wooden elephant cut out which she handed over to the girl, smiling when she immediately started gumming on one edge of it.

It was as she was lifting the tin out to read the back that she noticed the envelope that had been underneath. It was a golden cream color and since it was flap up, she could see the old-fashioned wax seal holding it closed. She pulled the envelope out, studying the seal for a moment, interested in the gold flecked green wax. A trio of shooting stars were pressed into the wax, and when she flipped it over, she found written on the front in green ink, **Evander Xavion Buckley** , and **Edmundo Diego Diaz**.

“Buck, this is for you. Well, you and Eddie,” Hen muttered, waving the letter. “Do you want me to take her so you can read it, or do you want me to just read it first then sum it up for you?”

Buck thought about it for a moment before waving a hand at her. “You read it; I can read it later then take it to Eddie.” His focus shifted back to the baby, fingers brushing over her cheek.

“If you’re sure…” Hen hedged, pulling out the chair closest to her and sitting down. At Buck’s nod, she worked a nail under the seal and popped it off, opening the envelope. There were a couple of sheets inside, folded together to fit into the space. The outside sheet was thicker letter paper, but the inside sheet was thick _official document_ paper and as tempting as it was to look at that one first, Hen was hoping that the letters had answers.

**Felicitations.**

**As a representative of the** Wishing Stars Guild, **it is with great pleasure that I, Holly Wrinkle, announce the completion of the Wish made by Christopher Elijah Diaz on December 13 th, 2020. The Wish was as follows:**

 _“I want Dad and Bucky to finally get together. And I want a sister_.”

**We’ve filled the request to the best of our ability. This is an extraordinary case, and much had to be altered to allow for it to come to fruition.**

**Please enjoy,**

**Holly Wrinkle**

**Special Granter of the** Wishing Stars Guild

One of Hen’s eyebrows had climbed steadily higher the further she read down the page. By the time she’d reached the end, both of her eyebrows had neared the point that an irrational fear of them falling off her head had crossed her disbelieving brain.

“Hmm, Buckaroo, you may want to read this now,” Hen commented, waving the letter as she reached for the other paper.

“She’s almost asleep,” Buck murmured, rocking the baby gently.

“You can put her back in her basket,” Hen suggested, but knew from the look on his face that he didn’t want to put her down. “Here, I’ll put it down so you can see it then.” She stepped closer, spreading the letter out on the table before him. When he shifted closer to the table in his seat, she went back to the other page, peeling back the small wax seal holding the two halves together before spreading the page out in front of her.

It was actually two pages; one the blue of a California Birth Certificate, the other gold and silver and green. The California certificate was mostly filled out, only the baby’s name missing from the information which otherwise said that she was born at a clinic on the west side at four in the morning on the 11th of November with her parents listed as Evan Buckley and Edmundo Diaz, making her just over a month old. The other certificate, from the _Wishing Stars Guild_ , with decorated garlands along the edges was practically empty, only golden typeset print over silver lines on the page.

This certificate recognizes

____________________

As the child of

____________________

And

____________________

Wished for by

____________________

Acknowledged by,

___________________

___________________

___________________  
On this date,

___________________

Of the year,

___________________

“Buckaroos, you’re going to want to talk to Eddie, and _soon_ ,” Hen suggested, tucking the two certificates back together before pushing them over so Buck could see.

Under any other circumstances, the **_oh shit_** look on Buck’s face would have had Hen snickering, but this was an extremely serious time. _Christopher had wished up a baby_ ; this was no laughing matter. Hen had heard of similar instances from her Aunts living in Jamaica of Wishes coming true and the largest ones with letters accompanying them to explain, but never as far as Hen could remember, had they mentioned a _baby_.

“I’m going to fix her a bottle,” Hen murmured, raising a hand to run her fingers through Buck’s hair that was loose and free of product. “Why don’t you take her to the couch and lay down with her while I get it ready? After that I’m going to go sack Bobby’s office for some more supplies.”

“Should I do anything?” Buck asked with a frown as he looked down at the baby in his arms. “I remember reading a study that recommended—”

“Just take off your sweater for now,” Hen interrupted, taking the tin of milk powder and the bottle to the kitchen. “I’ll bring you a blanket when I’m done before I go to Bobby’s office. You can take a nap and keep her company out here. Hopefully, we don’t get any calls until she wakes up on her own again.” She dug the kettle out of the cupboard, pulling down the electric one rather than the stovetop one that usually only saw use when someone ~~Matherson~~ was in the mood for long brew tea. She filled it with the minimum required water, pressing the button for it to boil to 176ºF as she read the instructions on the back of the tin properly.

Buck carefully got up from his chair at the dining table, moving slowly to the couch. He set the baby—and she really needed a name, he couldn’t just keep calling her _the baby_ —down on the armchair long enough to get his sweater off before he picked her up again and cautiously laid down on the longer couch, rearranging her against his chest until she was tucked under her blankets with her head pressed into the crook of his neck, skin against skin. He wasn’t looking forward to waking her when Hen was done, but she needed to eat since it could have been hours since she had anything.

“I’ll have—” Buck interrupted himself with a yawn, “—have to talk to Reynolds about getting out a few hours early.”

“Sleep first, we’ve only got eight-ish hours before shift out anyway,” Hen suggested, yawning herself as she checked on the water’s progress before leaving the kitchen to join Buck in the living area with her water. She sat down on the coffee table, watching Buck as he rubbed the baby’s back through the blankets. “Buck, you’re going to have to talk to Eddie about this; this is extremely important, and sudden, and not something either of you would ever expect to happen—”

“But I _was_ expecting this,” Buck admitted, looking at her briefly before turning his attention back to the baby. He was quick to add when Hen made a strangled noise, “Maybe not this exactly, but… Hen, I wasn’t always careful, and I may not have been expecting to be handed a _magic baby_ , but it’s been in the back of my head since I graduated high school that someday I might wake up and find a baby on my doorstep or a CPS Agent here when we get back from a call.”

Hen was quiet, a proud little smile on her face as she looked at the younger man, one she often called brother. He was really growing up, right before her eyes. “I’m proud of you, Buck,” she commented, reaching forward to squeeze his knee.

Buck shrugged as much as he was able with a sleeping baby on his chest. “The account started after I got out of the SEALs, but since settling in LA… I’ve got a whole binder of plans for pretty much any scenario I could think of.”

“And do any of your scenarios work for this circumstance?” Hen asked, an eyebrow raised.

Buck winced, nodding, “Yeah, but it’ll depend on what Eddie says when I tell him about this.”

“You think about that, Buckaroo, make up a good plan before you go over there and tell him.” She pushed herself up off the table, stretching with a groan. “I’m going to go raid Bobby’s office now, and then I’ll see about her milk.”

“Thanks Hen,” Buck murmured, squirming along the couch until he was more comfortable.

Hen stopped to drop a kiss to Buck’s forehead. “You’re welcome, Buck. Now think about what you’re gonna tell your baby daddy about the magical baby your son wished up.”

Buck’s strangled noise made her grin and she snickered as she disappeared downstairs to dig through Bobby’s office for one of the Safe Haven supply bundles, the ones he kept locked up in one of the standing lockers that only he and she had keys for. (B Shift had their own lockers for Safe Haven supplies, but since she was there…)

By the time she returned, the water was cool enough for the formula, so she mixed up the bottle, shaking it vigorously as she walked back into the sitting area. A coo escaped her as she took in the sight of Buck and his new little companion curled up on the couch.

Buck was on his side, facing the back of the couch, one arm folded under his head with the other cradling the baby between his body and the back cushion of the couch. She was curled up on her back, blankets and Buck’s sweater covering her. Both were asleep, blonde eyelashes fluttering as they dreamed.

She loathed to wake them, but the baby needed to eat so wake them she did. “Buck,” she murmured, gently shaking Buck’s shoulder. “Wake up, Buckaroo.”

Buck groaned, stretching full bodied and pushing his feet into the arm of the couch as he rolled onto his back. “Hen?” he grumbled, “what?” Rubbing his eyes, he stretched again, throwing an arm out and nearly smacking Hen in the knees.

“Her bottle is ready. Do you want to try feeding her or should I, as the more experienced parent, do it?”

Buck was instantly more awake, carefully sitting up so as not to disturb the baby too much. “Help?” he requested as he picked up the baby and got her settled in his arms, gently waking her by stroking his cheek.

Hen chuckled and set the bottle down on the table as she moved around Buck to reposition his arms. “You’ll want to hold her a bit more upright, so she’s more comfortable. There are pillows for this that have the best angle but doing it with your arms works just as well. Now the bottle—” she handed him the bottle and sat on the edge of the table, “—make sure you hold the bottle up so she’s getting only milk, not any air, it’ll help with gas and reduce the chance of her getting sick. Make sure she’s not guzzling the milk either, it’ll make her sick too.”

Buck took all her advice, carefully rubbing the teat against the baby’s lips until she took the bottle, then he made sure that she wasn’t drinking too fast or getting too much air. He was enamoured, and those blue eyes looking up at him like that firmed it for him; he was keeping her, no matter what Eddie said or what hoops he had to jump through to do it.

The baby emptied the bottle, batting at it with one hand before he could pull it away. A yawn left her little mouth and Buck grinned before raising a hand to brush his thumb over her lips, catching a stray drop of milk. He leaned down, pressing a kiss to the girl’s forehead before shifting his hold on her, laying her against his shoulder, her head tucked over his shoulder.

And before Hen could even warn him, she heard the tell-tale sound of a baby spitting up. With a sigh she held her arms out, “Gimme her. You’re going to want to go change your shirt and put that one in the cold-water bucket to soak. And here’s to hoping that it comes out.”

Buck wrinkled his nose at the smell, rubbing the baby’s back gently to make sure she was done before pulling her away from his chest, checking her face. He tugged up the hem of his shirt with one hand, using the already soiled fabric to wipe the little bit of dribble on her face away. “There you go sweet girl, now you go to Aunty Hen while I change my shirt,” he cooed as he handed her over.

“Aren’t you a beauty?” Hen asked rhetorically, sliding the baby into her arms, pressing her against her chest firmly. “Shall we wait for Daddy to come back?”

Buck stuttered in his steps, a pleased flush coming over his face before he continued downstairs to the locker room to change his shirt into his last extra one, the long-sleeved cotton one that had a tiny pink star embroidered on the left sleeve where he’d torn it and Abuela had stolen it to fix it. He quickly tugged the old one off, stuffing it into the bucket of cold water for bloodstains, adding it to the two shirts that Hen and her temp-partner, Startenberg, had had to shed ten hours ago after a medical emergency. He hurried to dig his other shirt out of his locker, shivering in the cooler air of the locker room after being upstairs where it was warmer. Pulling the shirt down over his head, he left the locker room, speedily walking to the stairs.

Arriving back upstairs, he found Hen gently rocking the baby, humming quietly to the motions. When Hen saw him come up, she smiled and whispered, “She’s almost asleep again. Come take your daughter, Buck.”

A pleased grin spread across Buck’s face and he practically bounced over to take the baby from her. A careful exchange of arms and Buck had his baby girl back in his arms, the baby almost immediately settling against his chest as he cuddled her close to him. “Sleep now, Aggie,” Buck cooed, pressing a kiss to the side of her head, and breathing in her baby scent.

Hen waited until her blue eyes slipped closed before looking over at Buck, who’d settled back on the couch again, raising an eyebrow as she questioned, “Aggie?”

“Agatha; it’s my grandmother’s middle name,” Buck answered. He shrugged slightly, settling down against the pillows again. “I figure we each pick one, or if Eddie doesn’t want…” he bit his lip, squirming, before continuing, “I’ll just pick out the rest.”

“It’s a good name,” Hen praised, smiling at how Buck perked up like a puppy getting pats at the praise. “And you’ve given her a good nickname.”

“Thanks Hen,” Buck mumbled, pink in the cheeks as he squirmed down the couch, making sure not to jostle Agatha too much. He laid down, drawing Agatha’s blanket up over her back as he settled down, cuddling her against his chest. Humming quietly, he didn’t notice as Hen got up—much too focused on the sleeping face of his little girl— to sneak into the bunk room to grab Buck’s blankets from his bed. He only noticed her return when the two layers of fabric were tossed over his legs and drawn up over his body, tucked just over his arm that lay across Agatha’s back.

“Go to sleep, Buckaroo. Deal with everything in the morning,” Hen murmured, running her fingers through his hair briefly. At the sleepy look on Buck’s face, she couldn’t help herself, leaning down to bop a kiss to his forehead before she took her cup and left, shutting off all but the hood light of the stove (which was usually left on when their usual shift was on duty) as she returned to the bunk room to try and get some more sleep herself.

After their shift was over at noon, with only two medical calls to interrupt the otherwise quiet rest of their morning, Buck asked Hen to drive him over to Eddie’s rather than grabbing an Uber. Agatha had no car seat, just her basket, so Buck didn’t want to have her unsupervised. On top of that, his Jeep was in the shop after the kid of one of the other tenants in his apartment block backed into it in the parking lot during a driving lesson.

The drive over to Eddie’s was quiet. In the back, Agatha was sleeping again while Buck stared out the window pensively as he mulled over how to tell Eddie the truth; and in the front, Hen focused on the road and listened to the R&B she decompressed to after shifts.

The drive wasn’t long, even with the midday LA traffic slowing it down some, and soon enough, Hen was pulling to a stop in front of Eddie’s house, parking her car and turning down the music as she turned to look at Buck who was gathering up his bag and Agatha’s basket to get out.

“Are you ready, Buck?” she asked, resting her hand on the shoulder of the passenger seat, staring at him from behind her sunglasses.

Buck looked down at Agatha as she slept on, curled up in her basket with her blankets pulled up around her. Gently tucking a stray strand of dark brown hair back from her face, he shrugged as he pulled his hand away. “As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess,” he admitted, eyes flickering up to the house before back to Agatha.

“Just talk to him,” Hen suggested, noticing out of the corner of her eye as the curtains in the living room window shifted. “Lay everything out there and whatever comes afterward… just deal with it.”

Buck sighed, nodding as he turned his full attention to the house. “We’ll just have to see how this goes.”

“Go for it,” Hen coaxed, smiling as Buck took a deep fortifying breath before unlatching the door and stepping out, carefully picking up his duffel and Agatha’s basket.

“Thanks Hen,” he murmured, stepping back onto the curb. She waved him off, watching out the passenger window as the blond hip-checked the back door closed before heading up towards the house across the grass.

He’d barely stepped foot on the porch before the door was opening, Eddie standing in the doorway with a smile and a raised eyebrow. “Hey, Buck. How was—”

“We have a baby!” Buck blurted out, and when the words caught up to him, he flushed nearly red enough for his birthmark to disappear.

Eddie blinked at him, dumbfounded. “What.” He couldn’t even make it a question, just too confounded by what had come out of Buck’s mouth. A few blinks later, he was holding up a finger to silence Buck before he could speak again. “Come inside and explain.”

Buck brought everything inside, kicking off his shoes and dropping his duffel to the floor out of the way, keeping Agatha’s basket in his arms as he headed for the couch. He set the basket on the coffee table, cautiously working Agatha out of the basket and into his arms.

“Do you want some coffee?” Eddie questioned, feeling like he’d definitely need something stronger but with it being the middle of the day on a Wednesday, coffee would have to do.

“Please.”

Eddie nodded, heading into the kitchen to put a carafe on. Standing at the counter, he gripped the worktop tightly, breathing in and out in the meditative methods that Frank had coaxed into him while he grappled with the flare of jealousy and anger that bloomed to life inside his chest. He had no right to be angry, or jealous for that matter, they weren’t together, he had no claim over Buck or his body. No matter what he wished, he didn’t, and he’d have to suck it up.

As the coffee machine sputtered, he sighed and dropped his head between his arms, forehead pressed to the laminate and eyes closed as he regained his composure before he forced himself up and over to the cupboards. Dragging two cups down from their shelf, he muttered an oath in Spanish as he hoped that Buck hadn’t noticed his upset. 

The coffee maker would take another few minutes to finish brewing, so he crossed the kitchen to the fridge to get the creamer, grabbing the sugar on his way back to the coffee machine. Everything set down next to the mugs, he impatiently waited for the coffee maker to finish, thoughts spiralling.

When the sputtering was finished, Eddie poured both their coffees, doctoring Buck’s how he liked before doing his own. Buck’s had enough creamer to make it nearly white, the bottle the seasonal Peppermint Mocha International Delight, and enough sugar to give Eddie phantom tooth aches just looking at it. Eddie’s on the other hand, was much less doctored, only a splash of the creamer for flavouring and one spoonful of sugar.

“Okay, here’s your cavity in a cup,” Eddie commented as he entered the living room, stumbling to a stop at the sight of Buck with a _baby on his chest_. Hot damn. If Eddie had thought Buck was hot before, there was nothing on the sight of Buck with a small child in his arms, smaller than Eddie’s own.

“Thanks, Eds,” Buck murmured distractedly, reaching out with one hand to take the cup from him as the other clutched Agatha to his chest, carefully settling the mug on the coaster on the end table next to him. “You’re going to want to look at those,” Buck mentioned, motioning with his freed hand to the envelope he’d left on the coffee table when he moved Agatha’s basket to the floor.

Eddie raised his coffee to his mouth, taking a gulp of the practically scalding liquid before he carefully sat down on the floor between the tv and the coffee table, grabbing the envelope and pushing the flap up to take the contents out.

Buck kept his focus half on Agatha as she shifted in her sleep, mentally calculating how long it had been since she’d last had a bottle, and the other half on Eddie, watching his facial expressions change as he read through the pages. When Eddie finished with the papers, calmly—almost too calmly, but Buck knew Eddie, knew that this was Eddie thinking—folding the sheets back before tucking them into the flap of the envelope, setting the stack on the table again, Buck couldn’t contain himself, asking, “So?”

Eddie cut him off with an upheld finger, grabbing his coffee mug and draining it, uncaring of the still hot liquid, before he pushed himself to his feet, going back into the kitchen, presumably to refill it.

Buck sighed, tucking his nose against the top of Agatha’s head, breathing in that baby smell as he waited for Eddie to come back. “You’re lucky, sweetheart, you get to sleep through this conversation.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead as Eddie came out of the kitchen with another mug of coffee.

“I’m sorry,” was the first thing Eddie said once he’d stepped back into the living room, and Buck raised his head to squint at the other man.

“You’re sorry?” Buck questioned incredulously.

Eddie deadpan stared at him, “My kid wished up a baby, Evan. One that neither of us was prepared for.”

Buck flushed and tucked his nose down against the crown of Agatha’s head, muttering, “I was waiting for something like this to happen.”

Eddie raised an eyebrow as he moved to his previous position. “That’s different, Buck. A child from one of your flings is so totally different from a child magically created by a Wish from my son with the _expectation that we get together because of her_.”

Buck raised an eyebrow back at him as he peered over Agatha’s head, “And I wonder where he got that idea from?”

Eddie flushed slightly, knowing exactly where Chris had gotten the idea: _his parents._ After all it was simple math that Chris was born only five months after he and Shannon had gotten married, and his parents may _try_ to be quiet about their dislike for his late wife, but it was assured that they’d messed up at some point, laying out everything they disliked within the hearing of his son.

“And I know that’s what he expected, but… Eds… you know, I don’t expect that. If you want nothing to do with her other than being around her, I wouldn’t—”

“Evan,” Eddie interrupted, sitting up straight. “That’s not what I’m saying.” When their voices started disturbing Agatha, he slumped, looking at her. “I think we need to lay her down in my room while we have this conversation.”

Buck nodded slowly, carefully shifting around until he could sit up with Agatha in his arms. He hummed soothingly as he got to his feet, rubbing her back gently as he swayed along behind Eddie down the hallway to the older man’s bedroom.

“Stay there,” Eddie murmured, pointing to the end of the bed. “I’ll make up a bed for her.” He patted Buck’s shoulder before heading for the closet. He rummaged around inside, Buck standing outside as he did so.

Eddie came back with a bundle of linens and the two weighted body pillows he secretly used when he was lonely, though he was sure that Buck knew full well what he did with them. “This will have to do for now,” he murmured, setting his pieces on the bed. “She really needs a bunch of stuff, but that can wait until we’ve finished talking, so for now, I’ll make her a blanket nest like I used to do for Chris, just on a smaller scale.”

Then he went, quietly, through the step-by-step process of making the nest so Buck could do it himself later. First, he pulled a fitted sheet for what had to be Chris’ bed based on the pattern from the top of the pile, opening it up and fluffing it out on the bed. One blanket was half-unfolded and tucked inside the sheet before one of the body pillows was put in on top of it, tucked into the pocket of the elasticated corners. A folded blanket went into the space next to the pillow before the other pillow was tucked in next to it, the other end of the unfolded blanket folded over top of them before he pulled the other end of the fitted sheet over, tucking the other two corners around the body pillow to hold them in place. He took the last blanket, fluffing it out before laying it down on top of the whole construction, stepping back and motioning Buck to lay her down in the hollow.

Buck hummed softly as he laid Agatha down on the blanket, carefully tucking her blanket up around her waist as he leaned down to kiss her forehead. He couldn’t help pausing to breathe her in before he pulled back, stepping away from the bed and leaving her to sleep.

Eddie took a brief second to make sure that she wouldn’t be able to roll herself out of the little nest before he gently brushed a finger over Agatha’s tiny hand. Her fingers stretched but she stayed asleep, only squirming into a better position before settling as both men backed away from the bed and out of the room, leaving their little girl to sleep.

Buck sat down on the couch, grabbing his mug from where he’d left it. He downed a good portion of the liquid inside as Eddie moved around the coffee table, shifting some of Chris’ coloring supplies to the other side so he could sit facing Buck.

Eddie reached out and rested a hand on Buck’s knee, squeezing gently. “Let’s lay it all out; _all of it_ , Buck, not just some of it. Not just what you think I want to hear; I want to hear everything going through your head.”

Buck looked at him in wary silence for a moment before he could finally speak, asking, “Are you sure that’s what you want?”

Eddie nodded, studying his face. “I’m sure, Buck. I want to know everything.”

Buck sighed, pressing the heel of his palm to his eye. “You missed Buck 1.0, and I’m sure you’ve gotten bits from the others that leave you with plenty of idea of what he was like, but 1.0 had nothing on 0.5.

“0.5 started when I was sixteen. I made the varsity track team and ended up invited to a lot of parties. I got a girlfriend, and while we only lasted like two weeks, we hit it hard. She moved out of state, so we broke up, but I’d already gotten a taste, and it wasn’t hard for me to find another girl for my bed at one of the parties. I wasn’t always careful; drunk or in a rush or just unprepared, so as much as I didn’t want to be like my dad…”

Eddie knew all about it. Buck and Maddie liked to say that their parents “weren’t bad people, just bad parents” and Eddie knew exactly what that mean, he and Buck had had many conversations about how both their parents fit the description.

Michael and Olivia Buckley were fifteen when Maddie was born, so it was understandable that their grandparents had a hand in Maddie’s raising while they finished school, but when Buck was born almost fifteen years later… well, everything changed. The first years were fine, Buck stayed with his grandparents or a nanny, the same as Maddie had, while their parents were at work (Olivia spent six months working from home even after her maternity leave ended) before spending the nights with their Mom since Michael worked random shifts. But when Buck was four, Olivia got a promotion that would have her moving to their office in Dublin, and conflict ensued.

A year later, Michael and Olivia Buckley were divorced, and Buck was staying in the States with his Dad while his Mom moved to Ireland and Maddie went off to the University of Pennsylvania. That arrangement lasted barely a year; one of Buck’s Aunts caught him at home _alone_ while his Dad was out partying, and his grandparents rained hell. They gave Michael two options, he either hand over custody to them or go to jail for child endangerment and whatever the Police could throw at him. He handed it over. Buck’s grandparents raised him from then on.

“There was only one scare in high school; it wasn’t mine, but it was enough that Grandad sat me down to come up with plans. Those plans got both easier and harder after I joined the SEALs, and then they changed again when I joined the LAFD but I’ve just kind of been _waiting_ , I guess, for the day that I wake up and there’s a baby on my doorstep or a CPS agent at the station when we get back from a call, or I get a call in the middle of the night to go to a hospital because I have a child I didn’t know about.

“So as startling as her sudden appearance is, having Aggie isn’t super surprising. And no matter what you decide, I’m keeping her. She’s mine, and as much as I love you, even if you don’t want anything to do with her, she’s still a part of you too and I’m going to tell her that.”

“You—”

“I. Love. You.” Buck enunciated, staring at Eddie daringly. Daring Eddie to set him straight about the other’s own feelings even if it broke his heart.

Eddie stared at him, blank for a long moment, long enough that Buck almost got up to go and get Agatha and get out, but before he could even come to a decision on moving, Eddie was cupping his face between his palms, dragging him close to lay claim to his lips. When the chaste kiss ended, Eddie pressed their foreheads together, whispering against buck’s lips, “Te quiero, carin͂o.”

Eddie couldn’t help kissing the bright grin that spread over Buck’s lips, pecking his lips playfully until Buck interrupted the by-play with a yawn, sagging into Eddie’s chest as his mental tiredness caught up to him physically.

“Come on, Evan,” Eddie murmured, kissing his forehead gently as he guided him to his feet. “Nap time. We can figure everything else out later.”

“Sounds—” Buck cut himself off with another yawn, raising a hand to rub at his eye in a child-like manner. “Sounds good. Didn’t get much sleep last night, and god that shift was so _boring_.”

Eddie laughed, lacing their fingers together and pulling him away to the bedroom. “Poor baby,” he teased, tugging Buck into his arms before his bedroom door, pecking a kiss to the blond’s lips. “You’ll feel better after our nap, now come on, we’ll go lay down.”

“Gotta be quiet,” Buck murmured, rubbing his cheek against Eddie’s shoulder. “Aggie’s sleeping.”

Eddie quietly pushed the bedroom door open, smiling slightly when Agatha was revealed to still be sound asleep. “Noelle.”

“What?” Buck asked, quiet as he stepped around to the far side of the bed, knowing Eddie’s preference for the side closest to the door.

“For her middle name,” Eddie whispered as he climbed under the covers.

“Agatha Noelle,” hummed Buck as he settled along the far side of the bed, resting his arm over Agatha’s legs to reach for Eddie. “Sounds—” another yawn interrupted as he snuffled into the pillow. “Sounds good,” he mumbled, already half-asleep.

Eddie smiled as he tucked his arm below Buck’s, dropping his hand on the younger man’s hip. “Agatha Noelle Buckley-Diaz,” he murmured into the silence of the room, punctuated by the soft breathing from the other occupants of the bed. “A pretty name for a pretty girl.” His focus remained on the other occupants of his bed until he slipped into sleep, curled protectively around Agatha’s bundle.

When Carla brought Chris home, and they found the three of them cuddled up in Eddie’s bed, Chris’ excited squeal woke both Eddie and Buck who sleepily twisted to look at the two standing in the doorway. Carla just raised an eyebrow at them, and both woman and child smirked at them before commenting, “Finally.” The men’s squinting was ignored as Carla tapped Chris’ shoulder and directed him out to the dining table to do his homework, leaving the two men and their baby to go back to their nap while she handled the rest of the afternoon, even coming up with a list of things that her eldest daughter came to get. That would be one less worry for the sure to soon be overwhelmed fathers.

**Author's Note:**

>   
> ****  
> [Personal Tumblr](http://thirteenredvampirebites.tumblr.com) / [Writing Tumblr](http://crimsonswolfden.tumblr.com/) / [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Nightworldlove) / [My Writing Blog](https://kate-lee-shadows.blogspot.ca/) / Email: thirteenredangels@hotmail.com  
> ***Tumblr may not work. Just a warning.***  
> 


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